Interview Confusion

[LateToTheGame755]

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When interview offers are sent, does that mean that all you need is a good interview to get in ("all" does not necessarily mean easy)? I am very strong in interview settings, but could I have a very strong interview and still get rejected? In other words, once you get to the interview stage are all of your "stats" behind you, and acceptance is based off of social ability?

 

[piii]

Yes you can have a strong interview and not get in. The interview is just a component of the admittance process. Also, many people are poor judges of their interview skills.

 

[wagonwheel23]

Generally speaking, it runs as follows.

Screeners grant interviews, interviewers meet with candidates, full committee (which may or may not include the screeners) then meets and discusses the entire application.

The main point is that the committee is a new set of eyes that can find an issue with your primary application, thereby sinking you.

 

[breezy16]

Yes you can have a strong interview and not get in. The interview is just a component of the admittance process. Also, many people are poor judges of their interview skills.

^^ This happened to me. I spoke to one of my interviewers about it and they basically said yeah everything was really great... But, our school does this scoring/rubric thing so if you're below x number you get wait listed, below y number you're rejected, and above x you're accepted. Unfortunately, you were a tad off so keep in contact and if you wanna be here, you'll be here kinda thing.

 

[Goro]

If you have a red flag that is not bad enough to get you autoscreened, then it is possible that even a good interview might not be able to offset the concerns raised by the flag.

But on the whole, if you have a good interview, you're likely to be accepted. Keep in mind that people are often terrible judges of their own interview performance.

I need to update my post on med school apps soon.

When interview offers are sent, does that mean that all you need is a good interview to get in ("all" does not necessarily mean easy)? I am very strong in interview settings, but could I have a very strong interview and still get rejected? In other words, once you get to the interview stage are all of your "stats" behind you, and acceptance is based off of social ability?

 

[MaxPlancker]

For top schools, the post-interview acceptance is abysmal hovering usually between 20-30%. Not only do you need to ace the interview and have a stellar app, but you also have to have luck. You have to be what the school is looking for a particular year, whatever that may be.

 

[neekzg]

When interview offers are sent, does that mean that all you need is a good interview to get in ("all" does not necessarily mean easy)? I am very strong in interview settings, but could I have a very strong interview and still get rejected? In other words, once you get to the interview stage are all of your "stats" behind you, and acceptance is based off of social ability?

As others have said, depends on the school. One school I interviewed at (Tulane) accepted around 3/4ths of those being interviewed. Other schools accept less than 20% of those being interviewed. You should do more school-specific research for post-interview acceptance rates.

You could be a generally strong interviewer (although tbh people are not good at self-evaluating their interview strength) but still have a bad interview if you happen to get a bad interviewer. Unfortunately, it happens. And it does at times determine whether or not you will get into a school. There is a great deal of luck associated with every step of this process. You just need to apply broadly and hope the luck is in your favor.

 

[takeurmeds02]

4/5 different interviewers still grilled me about my stats and were inadvertently checking on my social skills. Be ready for any and everything. While your chances of admittance have significantly increased, you're still not a shoe-in for the most part.

 

[elf_earedMD]

.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Not all applicants go into the interview on the same footing and your paper application will still be used to determine whether or not you are accepted. The interview is just one of the many factors that go into the final decision. It's probably one of the most important ones, but it's not the end all be all. It's very possible to have a stellar interview and not be accepted, and it's possible to interview just okay and still get an acceptance. It's also very hard to judge your own interview performance.